Battle of Antrea

The Battle of Antrea was a Finnish Civil War battle, fought in Antrea and Jääski in Finland from 11 February to 25 April 1918 between the Finnish Whites and the Finnish Reds.

It was fought alongside the Viipuri–Joensuu railroad between Viipuri, the Red capital in Eastern Finland, and Antrea, an important railroad junction 30 kilometres (19 mi) north of Viipuri. The Reds targeted Antrea, but were stuck between the railway stations of Kavantsaari and Hannila and the nearby villages of Ahvola and Pullila. The most fierce battles were fought in Ahvola, which was a highway crossing a few kilometres west of the railroad. For the last nine weeks, the warfare was mostly trench warfare. Therefore, the battles in Ahvola were called the ″Verdun of Finland″, after the famous 1916 Battle of Verdun, although its size is not significantly comparable with the latter. The battle ended in late April, as the Whites attacked Viipuri from further east and the Reds pulled back to defend the city.